Coudoulet de Beaucastel

The Coudoulet, with its juicy fruit, is full and well-balanced on the palate, with juicy blueberries, notes of garrigue and lavender...

Château de Beaucastel is located 5 kilometres south-east of Orange, on the northern edge of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation. The 30 hectares of the Coudoulet de Beaucastel vineyard lie just to the east of the Beaucastel vineyard, on the other side of the A7 motorway. For reasons that will become obvious, it is often referred to as the baby of Beaucastel. When you look at the soil of Coudoulet, you will see that there are many similarities with that of Beaucastel. It is composed of Miocene marine molasse covered by alpine diluvium. This blanket of rolled pebbles contributes greatly to the wines of Beaucastel: it stores the intense heat of the Mediterranean sun during the day and slowly releases it to the vines at night. This allows the vines to get off to a good start in spring. During the long Mediterranean summer, the vines can sometimes be subject to water stress.

However, the Beaucastel vineyard has built up its resistance over 30 years of organic farming, which allows the vines to get through these dry periods without too much trouble. In addition, thanks to the porous and aerated soil, Beaucastel's vines have developed a root system that penetrates deep into the soil and allows them to seek water.

Coudoulet, like Beaucastel, owes its ability to age to the large proportion of Mourvèdre (30%) present in the final cuvée. The Mourvèdre brings aromas of leather, tobacco and spices. The vines of Coudoulet and Beaucastel are at the northern limit of Mourvèdre cultivation.
It is recognised that the best expression of a grape variety depends on where it is grown.
The other main grape variety, Grenache, gives Coudoulet its roundness and intense fruitiness, which is typical of Côtes du Rhône. Syrah and Cinsault, which each represent 20% of the blend, bring tannins and aromatic complexity to Coudoulet.
After a careful manual harvest, the grapes are brought to the cellar where they undergo the same heating technique as Beaucastel red wine. Maceration takes place in tiled vats for approximately 12 days, the free-run juice is then set aside and the must is lightly pressed using a pneumatic press.

Each grape variety is kept separately until the end of malolactic fermentation, then comes the blending. The young wine is aged for 6 months in oak barrels. In March following the harvest, the wine is fined with egg white and bottled.

Grape varieties: Grenache 30%, Mourvèdre 30%, Syrah 20%, Cinsault 20%.

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